Inside Masked Newcomer Marshmello's $21 Million Year

Marketing marauder: Anonymous DJ-producer Marshmello joins the highest-paid DJs list for the first time in 2017. (Photo by Steven Lawton/Getty Images)

Few DJs make it to festival mainstages and Ibiza club gigs--only one has done it as an independent artist dressed like a marshmallow.

Marshmello, an anonymous DJ-producer who performs behind a white marshmallow mask, banked $21 million in the 12 months prior to June 2017, before taxes and fees. Fueled by free releases of music online--and some 512 million YouTube views on videos such as "Alone"--he debuts on Forbes' annual ranking of the world's highest-paid DJs less than two years after his first gig.

"We were like, 'How do we create something that's not driven by who it is, or what it's about?'" says Moe Shalizi, Marshmello's manager at Red Light Management, who helped form the act. "We're creating more of a faceless brand."

Considering that 90% of the highest-paid DJs list is white men, Marshmello's anonymity has been a branding coup. The goofy all-white getup helps him stand out on lineups and rosters of folks who all look alike. What's more, its cartoonish quality is family friendly, says Shalizi, who claims 18% of Marshmello's fans are between 6- and 11-years-old.

"The brand is so recognizable that you just need to see Marshmello one time, but you look at a traditional DJ, the average person is not going to recognize them,” explains Shalizi. (Through Shalizi, Marshmello declined an interview request for this article.)

Electronic Dance Music (EDM) is no stranger to the masked marauder--Deadmau5, who last appeared on the list in 2015, performs in a mouse head. But Marshmello's stratospheric rise is indicative of the music industry's current state, where marketing and social media have never been more important.

That hasn't stopped fans speculating about his identity. Many believe Marshmello to be an alias of Chris Comstock, also known as Dotcom, a DJ-producer on Shalizi's management roster who reportedly shares a first name and tattoo with Marshmello. Further indication comes from royalty monitor ASCAP: Marshmello's "Silence" lists Comstock as the only songwriter on the track aside from Khalid, who is the featured vocalist--Marshmello is not credited anywhere. (Shalizi declined to comment on Marshmello's identity.)

Screenshot courtesy ASCAP

After Shalizi and Marshmello established the project in February 2015, Marshmello started releasing music for free on SoundCloud the next month, building a following with authorized remixes for popular artists including Zedd and Skrillex and Diplo's Jack Ü, alongside his own consistent output. (Such high-profile remixes lend credence to the theory that the man behind Marshmello is an established act who was able to fast-track his success by capitalizing on prior relationships.) Skrillex then booked Marshmello for his first gig, opening for him at New York's Pier of Fear on Halloween that year. It was Skrillex who sparked debate around Marshmello's identity, answering a phone call from "Chris," who he then called "Marshmello" during an on-air interview with Yahoo!'s Katie Couric.

"This kid Marshmello, speaking of new talent, just remixed a Justin Bieber song, and this kid is making great music," Skrillex testified in 2015 to Couric. (Marshmello later released his single "Ritual" through Skrillex's OWSLA label.)

Marshmello is now grossing an estimated $150,000-plus per gig. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella)

Beyond boosts from fellow DJs, social media has played a calculated role in Marshmello's rise. Marshmello gave his music free of charge for use in videos by several influential YouTubers, and in return, they appeared in Marshmello's videos, thus expanding his reach to their fanbases. Former Vine-star-turned-YouTuber Lele Pons appeared in Marshmello's "Summer" video, which counts more than 101 million views on YouTube; fellow YouTubers Hannah Stocking and Anwar Jibawi, who both boast over 1 million subscribers on YouTube, also star in his latest video, "Find Me."

His music, a melodic, bubbly synth-scape infused with brief vocal hooks and nods to trap drum programming, sounded mellow to Shalizi--hence the name. Hits have followed: "Alone" has shifted some 800,000 units, according to his management, while his self-released Joytime--an album composed largely of tracks previously uploaded for free--peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic chart. Without a label, Marshmello enjoys bigger take-homes on his tracks and merchandise.

Don't expect him to sign a record deal anytime soon: "We have deals from pretty much every label on the table right now that we just haven't taken," says Shalizi. "There hasn't been a real need for us."

"The brand is so recognizable that you just need to see Marshmello one time, but you look at a traditional DJ, the average person is not going to recognize them," explains Shalizi. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

Still, music remains a fraction of Marshmello's income, most of which is generated by touring. Between club shows in Las Vegas and closing out Coachella's electronic-focused Sahara Tent this year, Marshmello played more than 170 gigs in our 12 month scoring period, a schedule bested only by The Chainsmokers and Steve Aoki. With grosses north of $150,000 a gig, Forbes estimates, Marshmello is on fire.

"I don't take my helmet off because I don't want or need fame. I'm genuinely trying to create something positive for people to connect with," Marshmello tweeted in August. Next up: expanding those connections into pop and hip-hop, with singles featuring Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Migos.

"There's a percentage of people that think it's a gimmick and it's cheesy," says Shalizi. "But if it was a gimmick, it wouldn't have lasted this long."